Kolkata: Women employees of schools, colleges, universities, and urban and rural local bodies in West Bengal can now avail a 'child care leave' of 730 days, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Friday.

The scheme would also include women employees of corporations, undertakings and statutory authorities under the WB government, Banerjee said at a programme in a water treatment plant of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Earlier, women employees of only the state government were eligible for this benefit.

One lakh women would benefit from the scheme, the chief minister said later in a post on Facebook.

At the KMC programme, Banerjee inaugurated the upgraded facility of Gardenreach water treatment plant where 155 million gallon per day (MGD) would be available now.

Earlier, 135 MGD of water was produced there.

Besides this 20 MGD upgradation, the Chief Minister said, there would be an addition of 30 MGD before the Durga Puja in mid-October.

Another treatment plant with a capacity of 25 MGD will be set up beside the existing unit at Gardenreach and 11 bigha of land has been allotted to KMC for that, she said adding the plant will come up within two years.

Municipal areas of Pujali, Mahestala and Budge Budge, which are close to the jurisdiction of the KMC, will get water from the Gardenreach treatment plant, she said.

Projects were also taken up by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department to supply piped water to districts like Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum, she said.

The chief minister said her government's stand is not to collect water tax.

PHE Minister Subrata Mukherjee said various projects were being taken up so that people of the state can get 70 litres of water a day on an average, which would be free of arsenic, fluoride and bacteria.

Banerjee also announced that a garment hub would be set up for the tailors of Mahestala and Gardenreach.

Land has already been allocated and work for the garment hub, which will generate 35,000 employment, would start within this year.